in Thessaly. An embassy sent to him from the Carthagi nians, who were at that time actually at war with the Romans, very much augmented his courage.

Q. Cæcilius Metellus, lately elected prætor, had succeeded Juventius. Andriscus had resolved to advance and meet him, but did not think it proper to remove far from the sea, and halted at Pydna, where he fortified his camp. The Roman prætor soon followed him. The two armies were in view of each other, and skirmished every day. Andriscus gained an advantage sufficiently considerable in a small combat of the cavalry. Success generally blinds and proves fatal to people of little experience. Andriscus, believing himself superior to the Romans, sent off a great detachment to defend his conquests in Thessaly. This was a gross error; and Metellus, whose vigilance nothing escaped, did not fail to take the advantage of it. The army that remained in Macedonia was beat, and Andriscus obliged to fly. He retired amongst the Thracians, from whom he returned soon after with another army. He was so rash as to hazard another battle, which was still less successful than the former. He had above 25,000 men killed in these two battles; and nothing was wanting to the Roman glory but to seize Andriscus, who had taken refuge with a petty king of Thrace, to whose fidelity he had abandoned himself. But the Thracians did not stand much upon breach of faith, and made that the means to their interest. That prince delivered up his guest and suppliant into the hands of Metellus, to avoid drawing upon himself the wrath and arms of the Romans. Andriscus was sent to the Romans.

Another adventurer, who also called himself the son of Perseus, and took upon him the name of Alexander, had the same fate with the first, except being seized by Metellus: he retired into Dardania, where he effectually concealed himself.

It was at this time Macedonia was entirely subjected to the Romans, and reduced into a province.

A third usurper, some years after, appeared again, and set himself up as the son of Perseus, under the name of Philip. His pretended royalty was but of short duration. He was overcome, and killed in Macedonia, by Tremellius, afterwards surnamed Scrofa, from having said that he would disperse the enemy, ut Scrofa Porcos.

SECTION IV.

TROUBLES IN ACHAIA. METELLUS AND MUMMIUS SETTLE THOSE TROUBLES. THE LATTER TAKES CORINTH, AND DESTROYS IT.

METELLUS,* after having pacified Macedonia, continued there some time. Great commotions had arisen amongst the Achæans of the league, occasioned by the temerity and avarice of those who held the first offices. The resolutions of their assemblies were no longer guided by reason, prudence, and equity, but by the interest and passions of the magistrates, and the blind caprice of an untractable multitude. The Achæan league and Sparta had sent ambassadors to Rome, upon an affair about which they were divided. Damocritus, notwithstanding, who was the supreme magistrate of the Achæans, had caused war to be declared against Sparta. Metellus had sent to desire that hostilities might cease till the arrival of the commissioners from Rome, who were appointed for terminating their differences. But neither he nor Diæus, who succeeded him, paid any regard to that request. Both of them entered Laconia, with their troops, and laid waste the country.

The commissioners being arrived, the assembly was summoned to Corinth. Aurelius Orestes was at the head of the commission. The senate had given them orders to weaken the body of the league; and for that end, to separate as many cities as they could from it. Orestes notified to the assembly the decree of the senate; whereby Sparta, Corinth, Argos, Heraclea, near mount Œta, and Orchomenos of Arcadia, were secluded from the league, under pretence that those cities did not originally compose a part of the body of the Achæans. When the deputies quitted the assembly, and reported this decree to the multitude, they grew furious, and fell upon all the Lacedæmonians they found in Corinth; tore those out of the house of the commissioners, who had taken refuge there; and would have treated themselves no better, had they not escaped their violence by flight.

Orestes and his colleagues, on their return to Rome, gave an account of what had passed. The senate was highly incensed at it, and immediately deputed Julius, with some other commissioners, into Achaia; but instructed them to complain

* A. M. 3857. Ant. J. C. 147. Pausan. in Achaiac. p. 421-428. Polyb. Legat. cxliii. cxliv. Id. in Excerpt. de Virt et Vit. p. 181189. Justin. 1, xxxiv. c. 1. Flor. 1. ii. c. 16.

with moderation, and only to exhort the Achæans not to give ear to bad counsels, lest by their imprudence they should incur disgrace with the Romans; a misfortune it was in their power to avoid, by punishing those who had exposed them to it. Carthage was not yet taken, so that it was necessary to act with caution in regard to allies so powerful as the Achæans. The commissioners met on their way a deputy, sent by the seditious to Rome: they carried him back with them to Egium, where the diet of the nation had been summoned to assemble. They spoke in it with great moderation and kindness. They did not let slip a single word in their discourse, concerning the ill treatment of the commissioners, or excused it better than the Achæans themselves would have done; and were as reserved in regard to the cities they had been for separating from the league. They confined themselves to exhorting them not to aggravate their first fault, nor to irritate the Romans any further; and to leave Lacedæmonia in peace, Such moderate remonstrances were extremely agreeable to all the persons of sense in the assembly; but Diæus, Critolaus, and their faction, all chosen out of the vilest, most impious, and most pernicious persons in each city, blew up the flame of discord; insinuating, that the lenity of the Romans proceeded only from the bad condition of their affairs in Africa, where they had been worsted in several engagements, and from the fear they were in lest the Achæan league should declare against them.

The commissioners, however, were treated with sufficient deference. They were told that Thearidas should be sent to Rome; that they had only to repair to Tegea* to treat there with the Lacedæmonians, and to incline them to peace. They went thither accordingly, and persuaded the Lacedæmonians to an accommodation with the Achæans, and to suspend all hostilities, till new commissioners should arrive from Rome, to pacify all differences. But Critolaus' cabal took their measures in such a manner, that nobody, except that magistrate, went to the congress; and he did not arrive there till he was almost no longer expected. Conferences were held with the Lacedæmonians; but Critolaus would not come into any measures. He said, that he was not empowered to decide any thing without the consent of the nation, and that he would report the affair in the general diet, which could not be summoned in less than six months. That bad stratagem, or rather breach of faith, exceedingly offended Julius. After having dismissed the Lace

A city on the banks of the Eurotas:

dæmonians, he set out for Rome, where he described Critolaus as a violent and extravagant man.

The commissioners were no sooner out of Peloponnesus, than Critolaus ran from city to city, during the whole winter, and summoned assemblies, under colour of communicating what had been said to the Lacedæmonians in the conferences held at Tegea, but in fact to vent invectives against the Romans, and to put an odious construction upon all they had done, in order to inspire the same spirit of animosity and aversion which he bimself had against them; and he only succeeded too well. He, besides, prohibited all judges from prosecuting and imprisoning any Achæan for debt, till the conclusion of the affair between the diet and Lacedæmon. By that means, whatever he said had all the effect he desired, and disposed the multitude to receive such orders as he thought fit to give them. Incapable of forming right judgments of the future, they suffered themselves to be caught with the bait of the first advantage he proposed to them.

Metellus having received advice in Macedonia of the trou-bles in Peloponnesus, deputed thither four Romans of distinction, who arrived at Corinth at the time the council was assembled there. They spoke in it with abundance of moderation; exhorting the Achæans not to draw upon themselves, by imprudent rashness and levity, the resentment of the Romans.. They were treated with contempt, and ignominiously turned out of the assembly. An innumerable crowd of workmen and artificers, rose about them, and insulted them. All the cities, of Achaia were at that time in a kind of delirium ;. but Corinth was far more fraic than the rest, and abandoned to a kind of madness. They had been persuaded, that Rome intended to enslave them all, and absolutely to destroy the Achæan league...

Critolaus seeing with pleasure that every thing succeeded to his wishes, harangued the multitude, enflamed them against the magistrates who did not enter into his views; flew out against the ambassadors themselves, animated them against the Romans, and gave them to understand, that it was not without previous good measures he had undertaken to make head against the Romans: that he had kings in his party; and that the republics were also ready to join it. By these seditious discourses he prevailed to have war declared against t the Lacedæmonians, and, in consequence, indirectly against the Romans. The ambassadors then separated. One of them repaired to Lacedæmon, to observe the motions of the

enemy; another set out for Naupactus, and two waited the ar rival of Metellus at Athens.

The magistrate of the Baotians, whose name was Pytheas, equally rash and violent with Critolaus, entered into his mea sures, and engaged the Baotians to join their arms with those of the Achæans;, they were discontented with a sentence Rome had given against them. The city of Chalcis suffered itself also to be drawn into their party. The Achæans with such feeble aids, believed themselves in a condition to support all the weight of the Roman power; so much were they blinded by their rage and fury.

*The Romans had chosen Mummius for one of the consuls, and charged him with the Achæan war. Metellus, to deprive him of the glory of terminating this war, sent new ambassadors to the Achæans, with promises that the Roman people should forget all that had passed, and pardon their faults, if they would return to their duty, and consent that certain cities which had been proposed before, should be dismembered from the league. This proposal was rejected with disdain.. Uponwhich Metellus advanced with his troops against the rebels. He came up with them near the city of Scarphæa in Locris, and obtained a considerable victory over them, in which he took more than 1000 prisoners. Critolaus disappeared in the battle, without its being known what became of him. It was supposed that in the flight he had fallen into the marshes, and been drowned. Diæus took upon him the command in his stead, gave liberty to the slaves, and armed all the Achæans and Arcadians capable of bearing arms. That body of troops amounted to 14,000 foot. and 600 home. He gave orders besides for the raising of troops in every city. The exhausted cities were in the utmost desolation.. Many private persons, reduced to despair, laid violent hands upon themselves; others abandoned an unhappy country where they foresaw their destruction was inevitable. Notwithstanding the extremity of these misfortunes, they had no thoughts of taking the only measures that could prevent them. They detested the rashness of their chiefs, and nevertheless came into their measures.

Metellus, after the battle before mentioned, fell in with 1000 Arcadians in Boeotia, near Cheronæa, who were endeavouring to return into their own country; these were all put to the sword.. From thence he marched with his victorious army to Thebes, which he foun almost entirely deserted. Moved with

↑ A. M. 3858. Ant, J. C, 146.